Posted on 10/22/2017 7:23:45 AM PDT by vladimir998
Stratton-on-the-Fosse, England, Oct 19, 2017 / 12:54 pm (CNA).- A new BBC series will depict the daily life of Benedictine monks in a few UK monasteries, taking camera crews to capture a lifestyle normally hidden from the public’s eye.
A three episode mini-series called “Retreat: Meditations from the Monastery,” the broadcast will explore the life of three different abbeys: Downside, Belmont, and Pluscarden.
Produced without a narrator, the series aims to portray the quiet contemplation of the monks’ daily routines using only the natural sounds of the monasteries. Viewers will be able to experience the sights and sounds of meals, Gregorian chants, and gardens.
The series will focus on the Benedictine motto: ‘Ora et Labora’ (prayer and work), by following a few monks engaged in manual labor at the monastery.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
In addition to the miniseries, there will be a series of podcasts:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b099tkx5
Silence
Slow Radio, Meditations from a Monastery Episode 1 of 5
Five ‘slow radio’ soundscapes, featuring themes from monastic life. Tonight, in the first in the series, monks from Downside, Belmont and Pluscarden Abbeys meditate on the subject of silence, against a background of chant and sounds evocative of the peace and serenity of the monastery. The programmes allow the listener to appreciate life at a monk’s pace, reflecting the gentleness and calm of monastic life. Listeners will hear musings from the monks themselves, interspersed with their singing and sounds from the natural world. The series is available for download as a podcast. It accompanies the BBC 4 television series Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery, which visits the monasteries in search of inner peace, presenting an alternative to the hectic pace of modern daily life.
Each podcast will be 15 minutes long.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09c0hwb/episodes/guide
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast (Tuesday Oct 24 21:00)
Downside Abbey
Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery, Series 1 Episode 1 of 3
The first film is set in Downside, a spectacular neo-gothic monastery set in the beautiful valleys of Somerset. It is home to fourteen Benedictine monks who live according to the 6th-century Rule of St Benedict. We follow two of the monks over the course of a typical, quiet monastic day, as they engage with carpentry and baking, religious services and moments of private prayer in the monastery gardens.
The pattern of the monks’ day has changed little over hundreds of years and this programme encourages us to slow down to their pace, share their silence and eavesdrop on their rituals. Father Michael has been designing and making extraordinary pieces of furniture in his workshop for the past 48 years. He picked up his passion for woodwork from his father - but found when he joined the abbey in his early twenties that it was a role he could embrace and nurture. He’s now a master craftsman and is on hand should the abbey need repairs, restorations or any new items of furniture. We watch him working on prie-dieu (a traditional prayer desk), carving, whittling and sawing until it’s finished and we watch him use it in private prayer. ‘Ora et labora’ (prayer and work) is the Benedictine motto.
Father Christopher originally came from Malta where he developed his love of food and in particular bread. He first joined Downside Abbey when he was 24, but stayed only five years. Aged 60, he decided to become a monk again and joined the community for good. We watch him bake a loaf of sourdough bread for lunch, mixing, kneading and baking the dough. He also collects wild garlic from the monastery meadows and makes a garlic butter dish to serve alongside the bread.
Filmed with an eye to the beauty and peace of the ancient surroundings, the film has a painterly quality that creates a feeling of restfulness and quiet contemplation. And by focusing on the natural sounds of nature and the peace of the abbey we have created a meditative soundtrack that adds to this unique experience.
Not Catholic, but two observations:
1. Benedict of Nursia is the most underrated person in Western History. His “Rule” did an awful lot to shape European culture after the fall of Rome.
2. When I have trouble nodding off, I put on Vesper and Compline from here:
Calms the mind and I’m off to la-la land within a half hour.
Somebody needs to write a good biography of Benedict.
There is one, can’t remember the title but I read it in college when I took a course on the medieval church.
There is also a GORGEOUS, mesmerizing film about a young man’s entrance into the Carthusian order in France. It is called “Into The Great Silence.” I recommend it very highly.
“Somebody needs to write a good biography of Benedict.”
How about one written by a pope?
Yes, it’s now available online for free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muoRdUiWJV4
If all Christians did what these monks do, Christianity would disappear in a generation.
“If all Christians did what these monks do, Christianity would disappear in a generation.”
Using your logic the same could be said if we all lived as Jesus of St. Paul did. They never married. They never had children.
Not everyone is called to the monastic life, or the celibate life. But Christian societies with flourishing monasteries never lacked for growing numbers of people. The same healthy Christian view which produces monasteries, produces fruitful marriages.
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